I use photography to record a life lived today. I photograph for posterity, to make a historical record that converses with an uncertain future, from the perspective of experiences and interactions I have during my lifetime. In short, I tell people “I am photographing a life lived today.” I am a visual storyteller working with photography in a social documentary practice I call Compassionate Photography. This is a derivative originating with “Concerned Photography,” a form of social documentary first described in the 1960’s by legendary photographer and founder of the International Center of Photography, Cornell Capa.
I frequently make work with publication as my primary goal. Each project follows a similar path. I scan whats around me for a compelling moment and I make a photo. I frequently visit the work I make looking for themes that arise and the beginnings of a narrative. When I make a discovery within the work, I may begin to storyboard the narrative, or if the work is more theme aligned, I’ll begin to narrow in on what is under represented or missing within the theme. Sometimes I’ll turn these early ideas into zines to help make the work more physical.
When I design exhibitions of my work, my goal is to create an experience for the audience, in much the same way as a film director takes a book and brings it to life on-screen. By design, I curate the exhibition to elevate the photography beyond the traditional by involving the imagination of the audience. I utilize playful and novel applications of woodworking, painting, printmaking and theatrics to construct interactive and conceptual environments, or perspectives, from which I want the audience to consider the content of the work. This practice aims to amplify the physical presence of the photograph to guide the audience’s attention into the substance of the imagery and the context of their experience in order to invite them to question their positionality and beliefs about the subject matter presented.
